The Birthday Present
Written by Unoaranya30
Chapter 2:
Okay. Whatever, But Kyle and John Aren't Pigs and Amazons Are Fearless Warriors
John and Kyle were intently monitoring the edge of the enchanted forest, their rings constantly scanning for danger. This was a difficult task since they were scanning for danger of a magical nature and the enchanted forest was, by its very nature, magical.
The forest was filled with mythological and magical creatures, some more dangerous than others. A few of these approached the edge of the forest to investigate the large body of Amazon warriors and the two strange men that glowed green like the leaves and the grass. None had ventured out of the forest.
Kyle and John both noticed that something was amiss almost simultaneously. Kyle turned to check with John and found himself face to face with Jade.
"Whoa. How'd you get here so fast, gorgeous? I thought you were supposed to be over by the mountain range waiting for the nasty witch to attack." Kyle could hear warning bells going off in his head. He knew it had to do with Hal, but after looking into Jennie's eyes he was having trouble thinking of anything other than her.
Kyle felt lucky to have such a beautiful, smart, gifted and green girlfriend. They had so many things in common outside of their superheroing. He never tired of her company, of her wit and of course, her beauty. Her flawless green skin, dark green hair and bright green eyes always made him melt.
"I came back here to be with you. I hate being on a mission with you and not be able to be by your side. Hawkman and Hawkgirl are together. So are Geo-force and Powergirl and Batman and Zatanna, Flash and Donna and of course Superman and Wonder Woman." Jade pressed herself to Kyle sensuously.
Kyle smiled to himself. She couldn't get enough of him. He was flattered but felt it important to point out an obvious flaw in her list. "Supes and Wondy are together but they are not a couple remember? And I don't remember Flash and Donna being an item."
Jade pulled away from him with a shocked look on her face. For a moment her face seemed just a little wrong. "They're not couples? That is very interesting."
She seemed thoughtful for a moment, "Well. They should be. Anyone looks at them would think that they are a couple."
As she mused Kyle felt like there was an important thought about Hal forming in his mind. Was Hal missing? He couldn't see him on his scans? Was that it? Maybe Jade could take his spot with John and he could go check on his friend.
He looked up at Jade. She was staring at him again. Her lovely green eyes bored into his. It was kind of strange. Her eyes actually looked violet today. Maybe it was the island or maybe she was wearing contacts. That must be it. Contacts. They were very popular with the ladies, Kyle thought, satisfied with his deductive reasoning. Jade was talking to him. Her voice seemed so melodious today. She was standing molded right to him. She smelled beautiful and her violet eyes were staring into his and he felt lost.
"…go with me into the woods? We could find a nice quiet spot where no one would be able to find us or bother us." She was whispering into his ear.
"O…Okay, Jennie." Kyle leaned down and kissed Jennie. She always felt so right. He couldn't understand why she also felt so wrong this time. Jennie was kissing him back deeply. Kyle felt his whole body tingling strangely.
He pulled away from Jennie and noticed somewhat absentmindedly that she was holding two power rings in her hand and she seemed a little different. He was pretty sure she didn't need a power ring. At the same time he noticed that the Amazons were running away, most without their weapons. This didn't seem to bother him too much.
He turned back to look at Jennie. He didn't see her, but then he didn't remember why he was looking for her. There was no reason to; she was over at the mountain range anyway. No reason for him to expect her here.
What he really wanted to do was run into the forest and look for some food. He felt very hungry.
As Kyle approached the edge of the forest he saw a little pig racing towards him along the tree line. The pig seemed familiar. He raced towards him squealing and grunting a salutation. Just before he reached the familiar looking pig a large wolf came into view. It was in hot pursuit of his friend, the pig.
With a squeal of terror he spun around and the two little pigs raced away from the wolf as fast as they could.
John enjoyed working with Kyle. He was a kind hearted young man with a powerful imagination. He had saved nearly everyone in the league at one time or another and he hadn't been in the league for very long. He wasn't nearly the fearless man that Hal was, nor did he have the military training or discipline that he had but he had plenty of heart and courage and he could come up with the most amazing constructs.
Unlike Hal, Ollie, Roy and a few others, Kyle did not suffer from a wandering eye. He was deeply in love with Jennie, and she alone turned his head.
John smiled to himself. He certainly wasn't a ladies man either. Oh, he noticed the other league beauties, and there were many, but he had a wonderfully beautiful and powerful girlfriend and he was more than satisfied. He would have liked if Batman, Black Canary and J'onn had allowed Mari to join them on this mission to Themyscira. It would have been nice to share and experience this lush tropical and breathtaking island with her.
John's pleasant thoughts were interrupted. Something was wrong. His ring told him that Hal was no longer in contact with them. He sensed that Kyle had also noticed this.
He turned to consult him and came face to face with Mari.
Surprised he asked, "Mari. What are you doing here? You're supposed to be monitoring back at the Watchtower."
Mari smiled, "I got tired of monitoring everyone. I would rather just monitor you." She looked hungrily at him as she wrapped her arms around his neck drawing his face down to hers.
John was tense. Something was wrong with this. As much as he would love to kiss Mari he wasn't convinced that she was in her right mind. She would not endanger her teammates or the mission just to make out with him.
She grabbed his ring hand and rubbed it along her face and stared at him with her big, lovely, honey brown eyes…No. They were violet. Why were they violet?
John pushed away from her holding her at arms length, "You aren't Mari! You're…"
Mari laughed. Her laugh made a chill run down his spine. All pretenses were dropped. Circe stood before him.
John shouted, "Circe is here!" and raised his ring hand to begin battle only to find that he no longer had his ring.
"Looking for this," Circe held up her hand showing him his ring. John saw two other rings in her hand as well. "Or maybe this," she held up his com-link.
John threw himself at her. Just because he didn't have a power ring didn't mean he was helpless. He was a Marine. He didn't have Batman's or Nightwing's fighting skills, but there were precious few other nonpowered members of the League who could best him in hand-to-hand combat.
Circe laughed at John's futile attempt to save face. With a wave of her hand she sent him crashing to the ground gasping for breath.
She knelt down next to him as he struggled for air. "I could easily take control of your mind if I wanted to," she teased him. "I could even make you into any animal of my choice. But you were a little sharper than your two friends. I think that I will leave you as you are. No ring, no communicator, no friends to come to your rescue. Your company of Amazons runs away in terror. Is it not sad? They are usually such fierce warriors."
"W.. What did y…you d…do to them?" John struggled to wheeze out the words, "Where's Kyle? Where's Hal?"
"Ah, of course. The lovely Amazons are running away in terror from a vicious army of evil men and your friends are running away from one of my lovers pets. See. Here they come. If you hurry maybe you can let the wolf eat you instead of them." Circe laughed again. The laugh was deeply musical and terrifying.
John found that he could again breathe. He looked up. He could still hear Circe laughing but she had disappeared. He looked down the hill and saw two little pigs running away from the largest wolf he had ever seen. Looking down the other side of the hill he could see the rapidly retreating forms of the terrified Amazons running towards the Palace. He saw that most had left their weapons strewed across the ground.
John stooped and grabbed a sword belt, a shield and a long spear then raced down the hill to face the pet of the god of war and give his life, if need be, for his friends.